Capital Markets · speciality monitor
Debt Capital Markets & High Yield: lateral monitor
Lawyers whose work centers on Debt Capital Markets & High Yield and who changed firm over the last 12 months, set against the Capital Markets practice and the market.
The last 12 months: November 2025 to October 2026
- 126
- Lateral moves, 12 monthsNovember 2025 to October 2026
- -6.0%
- Year on yearSettled 12-month windows
- 38.1%
- Partner share of moves
- 55
- Firms that hired
What the data show
Sartori & Partners data show 126 lateral moves in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield from November 2025 to October 2026. On settled windows the count went from 133 to 125 (-6.0%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat.
| Measure | Here | Capital Markets | Market |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner share of moves | 38.1% | 31.5% | 27.7% |
| Counsel share of moves | 15.9% | 11.5% | 12.7% |
| Associate share of moves | 46.0% | 56.5% | 58.5% |
| Moved up a level | 20.6% | 15.1% | 12.9% |
| Changed city | 24.8% | 23.8% | 20.5% |
| Hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers | 83.3% | 69.1% | 53.6% |
| Year on year | flat (-6.0%) | flat (+6.7%) | rose (+9.0%) |
12 months to October 2026 unless the row says three years; a row switches to three years for every column when this page's 12-month value is not published. A dash is a value we do not publish. Flat means a change under 5% or inside the noise of the two counts.
Set against the Capital Markets practice as a whole, the share hired by firms of 1,000+ lawyers stands out most: 83.3% here against 69.1%, above it. Year on year it moved with the Capital Markets practice as a whole: both flat.
Over the three years to October 2026, 362 lawyers moved in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield, 136 of them partners (37.6%). They joined 108 different firms. 16.6% stepped up a level on the move and 23.3% changed city, against 12.3% and 21.6% across the market over the same three years. 77.4% came from firms with 1,000+ lawyers.
- Partner38.1%
- Counsel15.9%
- Associate46.0%
At 38.1%, the partner share of arrivals sits above the market's 27.7%. On settled windows partner moves alone went from 48 to 45 (-6.2%), a change inside the noise of the two counts, so we read it as flat. 20.6% of movers stepped up a level when they changed firm, against 12.9% for the market.
Lateral hires in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield were spread across 55 firms. Ten firms account for 48.0% of arrivals, against 12.9% across the market: concentrated. Latham & Watkins ranks first by lateral arrivals, in the 11-20 band.
- 1,000+ lawyers77.4%
- 400-999 lawyers12.6%
- 150-399 lawyers5.4%
- under 150 lawyers4.6%
By city, New York comes first (26.2% of arrivals), then London (22.2%). 24.8% of movers also changed city, against 20.5% market-wide.
There were 115 open roles in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield on law-firm career pages on November 11, 2026.
For a firm planning a hire in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield, a flat market means candidates are not being pulled by a wave: the case for a move has to come from the platform.
Firms by rank and band
Each firm appears as a rank and a band, never an exact count, and only with at least 10 moves in the window.
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latham & Watkins | 11-20 |
| 2 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| 3 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
| 4 | Greenberg Traurig | 6-10 |
| 5 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 6 | Milbank | 3-5 |
| 7 | Dentons | 3-5 |
| 8 | Jones Day | 3-5 |
| 9 | Sullivan & Cromwell | 3-5 |
| 10 | A&O Shearman | 3-5 |
| Rank | Firm | Moves (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hogan Lovells Cadwalader | 6-10 |
| 2 | Mayer Brown | 6-10 |
| 3 | Dentons | 6-10 |
| 4 | Sidley Austin | 6-10 |
| 5 | Baker McKenzie | 3-5 |
| 6 | Paul Hastings | 3-5 |
| 7 | Norton Rose Fulbright | 3-5 |
| 8 | Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 3-5 |
| 9 | Greenberg Traurig | 3-5 |
| 10 | Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 3-5 |
Deals in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield
Sartori & Partners data count 3,291 dated deals in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield in the 12 months to October 2026 and 8,856 over the three years to October 2026.
Capital markets work is involved in 95.9% of them and Banking & lending in 1.6%.
By client industry, Banks & Financial Institutions comes first with 21.0%.
Davis Polk & Wardwell ranks first among advising firms over the period, in the 701-1200 band.
| Rank | Firm | Deals (band) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Davis Polk & Wardwell | 701-1200 |
| 2 | A&O Shearman | 701-1200 |
| 3 | Latham & Watkins | 401-700 |
| 4 | Clifford Chance | 401-700 |
| 5 | Linklaters | 401-700 |
| 6 | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 401-700 |
| 7 | White & Case | 401-700 |
| 8 | Hunton Andrews Kurth | 251-400 |
| 9 | Cravath, Swaine & Moore | 251-400 |
| 10 | Cahill Gordon & Reindel | 151-250 |
Time to partner in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield
38 lawyers were promoted to partner in Debt Capital Markets & High Yield in the 12 months to May 2026, 176 over five years, according to Sartori & Partners data.
The median time from first year of practice to partner is 10.0 years, with the middle half between 8.0 years and 12.0 years, against a market median of 10.0 years. 81.2% made partner within 12 years.
These figures rest on 138 promotions.
Related monitors and reports
Other specialities in Capital Markets
Hiring in this market
Reports
- Debt Capital Markets Lawyers: A Step-Up Market at the Largest Firms
Debt capital markets and high yield lawyers join at a higher title in 20.6% of moves, against 15.1% in capital markets and 12.9% overall, and firms of 1,000+ lawyers take 83.3% of the hires while hiring held flat (-6.0%).
November 11, 2026 · November 2026
Edition November 2026. Window: November 2025 to October 2026. Source: Sartori & Partners, from public law-firm announcements, firm websites and professional profiles, checked monthly. Methodology. Spot an error? [email protected].
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